The 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada), CEF was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

during the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The 15th Battalion was authorized on 1 September 1914, embarked for Britain on 26 September 1914 and arrived in France on 15 February 1915. The battalion fought as part of the 3rd Canadian Brigade,

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

in France and Flanders throughout the war. The battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920.Canadian Forces Publication A-DH-267-003 Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces. Volume 3: Combat Arms Regiments.

History

The 15th Battalion recruited in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Owen Sound Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attract ...

and St. Catharines, Ontario and Waterloo and

Coaticook Coaticook () is a town on the Coaticook River in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Coaticook Regional County Municipality, and its southern border is also the Canada–United States border. In addition to the primary community ...

, Quebec and was mobilized at

Camp Valcartier Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebec ...

, Quebec.Meek, John F. ''Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War.'' Orangeville, Ont.: The Author, 1971. The battalion fought on the southern flank of the 3rd Brigade during the attack on Vimy Ridge. They met little resistance from the Germans and reached their objectives within a few hours. The battalion suffered around 20% casualties with nine officers and over a hundred other ranks being killed or wounded.

Brock Chisholm George Brock Chisholm (18 May 1896 – 4 February 1971) was a Canadian psychiatrist, medical practitioner, World War I veteran, and the first director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO). He was the 13th Canadian Surgeon General and t ...

served with this battalion during the war. The 15th Battalion had seven officers commanding: *Lt.-Col. A.J. Currie, 22 September 1914 – 28 June 1915 *Lt.-Col. W.B. Marshall, DSO, 28 June 1915 – 19 May 1916 *Lt.-Col. C.E. Bent, DSO, 20 May 1916 – 29 December 1917 *Lt.-Col. J.W. Forbes, DSO, 29 December 1917 – 15 April 1918 *Lt.-Col. C.E. Bent, CMG, DSO, 15 April 1918 – 10 August 1918 *Lt.-Col. J.P. Girvan, DSO, MC, 10 August 1918 – 3 October 1918 *Lt.-Col. C.E. Bent, CMG, DSO, 3 October 1918 – Demobilization

Perpetuations

The 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada), CEF, is perpetuated by the

48th Highlanders of Canada , colors = , march = " 48th Highlanders Slow March"; Quick – "Highland Laddie" , mascot = , battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World ...

Battle Honours

The 15th Battalion was awarded the following battle honours: * YPRES, 1915, '17 * GRAVENSTAFEL * St. Julien *

FESTUBERT, 1915 The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

* MOUNT SORREL *

SOMME, 1916 The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village on ...

Thiepval Thiepval (; pcd, Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens. Population First World ...

Ancre Heights The Ancre (; ) is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, it flows into the Somme at Corbie. It is long. For most of its length it flows through the department of Somme. For a short stretch near P ...

ARRAS, 1917 The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

, '18 *

VIMY, 1917 The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

Arleux Arleux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Geography The river Sensée joins the Canal du Nord at Arleux. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes o ...

* Scarpe, 1917, '18 *

HILL 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

* Passchendaele *

AMIENS Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

* Drocourt-Quéant *

HINDENBURG LINE The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

Canal du Nord The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...

PURSUIT TO MONS Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915–18 The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of import ...

References

{{reflist

Sources

*''Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919'' by Col.

G. W. L. Nicholson Colonel Gerald William Lingen Nicholson (6 January 1902 – 28 February 1980) was a British-Canadian soldier, historian, author, and teacher. From 1943 until his retirement in 1961, Nicholson served in the Historical Section, Canadian Army, wher ...

, CD, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Ontario, 1962 015 Military units and formations of Ontario Military units and formations of Quebec 48th Highlanders of Canada